Depilation device

ABSTRACT

A device for removing hair from animal skin, which device may take the form of a laminate of flexible sheet material, at least a part of which has been impregnated with a tacky substance. The device is pressed against the skin so that the impregnated part is in contact therewith, and is then removed therefrom by a quick movement, the device carrying with it the undesirable hair on the skin and maintaining that area of the skin substantially free from hair.

United States Patent 1191 Lapidus [451 May 7,1974

[ DEPILATION DEVICE Gotham 17/] D Morgan 128/355 Primary Ex'aminer-Robert Peshock Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Johnson, Dienner, Emrich, Verbeck & Wagner [57] ABSTRACT A device for removing hair from animal skin, which device may take the form of a laminate of flexible sheet material, at least a part of which has been impregnated with a tacky substance. The device is pressed against the skin so that the impregnated part is in contact therewith, and is then removed therefrom by a quick movement, the device carrying with it the undesirable hair on the skin and maintaining that area of the skin substantially free from hair.

8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures 1 DEPILATION DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Depilatory products and devices have long been used for removing hair from the body, these compositions and devices being based upon a variety of techniques including dissolution of the hair, removal of the hair as by cutting or shaving and pulling out the hair from the shafts as by applying melted wax to the skin, letting the wax harden and then removing the layer of wax and the hair embedded in it from the skin.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION One proprietary composition for removing hair, over which the present invention is an improvement, is described in British Pat. specification No. 1,174,616. As there described, the hair remover comprises a composition having a syrupy consistency, and produced by heating an aqueous solution of citric acid and sucrose. In use, a layer of the syrupy material is spread on one face of a sheet of cotton fabric or a materialhaving a cotton-like texture, the resulting syrup-covered fabric applied to the skin, the sheet of material then removed from the skin with a rapid motion, the hair adhering to the face of the sheet which has been in contact with the skin.

One of the problems associated with the use of such a composition is that the person using it frequently has a tendency to put too much of it onto the fabric. Thus, if one does put too much of the-syrupy material on the piece of cotton fabric, applies the syrup-covered fabric to the skin, and then pulls it, he finds that rather than pulling the hair out, the fabric comes off and a great deal of the syrupy material-and hairremains on the skin. Conversely, if too little of the syrupy material is put on the skin or on the fabric, then one does not cover the skin or the fabric and spotting occurs.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a depilation device in flexible sheet form, a part of which is impregnated with a tacky material, which when applied to a portion of skin containing hair, will on subsequentremoval from contact with the skin, remove the hair uniformly.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a depilation device in the form of a laminate of sheet materials, one of the sheets forming the laminate having secured thereto a spongy or foraminous open-celled sheet material, which has been impregnated with a tacky material.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a depilation device which effects uniform removal of hair from the skin surface on which the hair is growing.

Anotherobject of the present invention is to provide a depilation device as described which is particuarly efficient in operation.

In a preferred embodiment of a depilation device in accordance with my invention, I provide a laminate comprising a carrier sheet formed of flexible material such as polyethylene, or the like, having superimposed over at least a portion of it, a porous sheet material such as foamed polyurethane, having an open-celled structure, which has been impregnated with a syrupy, tacky material. The product may, for ease of handling and packaging, be in the form'of a sandwich composed of two such laminates as above described, with the tacky faces being in face-to-faee relationship with each other/and desirably having the edges of the outer, carrier sheet material sealed together. In use, a part of one of the sealed edge portions is separated and the sandwich pulled apart, the resulting two laminated structures then being, each of them, ready for application to the skin.

Further objects and advantages of my invention, together with the organization and manner of operation thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a laminate structure comprising the depilation device of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a view of a sandwich structure comprising two laminated structures such as those in FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, FIG. 1 illustrates a depilation device according to the present invention, comprising a flexible carrier sheet material 11, suitably of polyethylene, having adhesively secured to it a layerof cellular material such as foamed polyurethane 12. The foamed polyurethane is of the open-celled type, with the open cell structures 13 being present on surface 14 of the polyurethane foam sheet 12 opposite. The polyurethane sheet 12 has been impregnated with a predetermined amount of a tacky, syrupy material, such as acid-hydrolyzed sucrose in aqueous solution. In a preferred embodiment of my invention, the sheet material 11 is of polyethylene film, or the like, the foraminous open-celled material layered on top of the polyethylene film is a foamed polyurethane, and the tacky, syrupy material is one formed by the acid hydrolysis of a sucrose solution, which will be more fully described hereinafter.

Referring to FIG. 2 of the drawing, the laminate of FIG. 1 has been pressed together with a like laminate structure, the foraminous or cellular layers facing each other. In a preferred form of the invention, the sheets 11 and 11a are larger laterially than the cellular layers 12 and 12a and the overlap portions 13 and 13a, as shown, are sealed to their opposites all around the periphery of the sandwich. An unsealed tab portion 14 permits the ready separation of the sandwich when it is ready for use and the two laminate structures are separated by simply peeling them apart. The seals may be effected by heat, using conventional heat sealing techniques used for heat sealing, e.g., polyethylene or saran film, or they may be made by the use of conventionally used adhesives and techniques. The advantage of such sandwich construction is that it minimizes the amount of evaporation that might take place with respect to the tacky material which is used as an impregnant, and as a result, the tacky material remains sticky, moist, effective and spread out for a significantly longer period of time than if it were not in such a confined structure. A further variation in package construction, not shown, is a sandwich type structure which is not sealed at the edges, but rather left open. Such an entire sandwich, or a plurality of smaller sandwich structures, is placed inside a pouch which is formed of a material impermeable to water vapor and air resistant, and is itself sealed to maintain stability.

In use each of the separated twoply laminate structures is pressed into contact with the skin from which the hair is being removed, with the sticky surface against the skin, left there for a time sufficient for the sticky substance to encapsulate the hair fibers, e.g., l0

to seconds, and then removed with a rapid movement carrying the hair along with it.

The tacky material forming the impregnant for the cellular layer portion of the device of the present invention is preferably formed, for example, by mixing 4 ounces of sugar with 2 ounces of citric acid solution having a specific gravity within the range of l.038l .40 at room temperature of 70 F. The composition is then heated to about 1-25 3 F, maintaining the composition within that temperature until the mixture is of a syrupy consistency and is then cooled and is ready for use in impregnating the cellular sheet material.

ln use the aforesaid syrupy material is flowed on to a strip of urethane which has been previously attached to a polyethylene film, and after depositing the syrupy material in excess, excess is scraped off, as with a Doctor Blade, allowing a predetermined amount of material to be retained on the urethane foam.

A satisfactory thickness of syrupy material is about 40 to 60 wet mils.

The urethane foam itself, known as low density urethane foam, is conveniently -l/l6 inch thick.

A suitable thickness of the polyethylene film is 0.0045 inch.

While the laminate above described may be of any size, I have found it convenient to use a piece about 2% inches to 3V2 inches of urethane foam adhesively secured to a sheet of polyethylene film by any means, as with an adhesive, the polyethylene film being A to /2 inch wider to permit of sealing of the edges as by heatsealing, with adhesives, or adhesive tape. The outer, carrier sheet, instead of polyethylene, may be of any material such as cloth which, for example, could be sewn against a like material at the edges, instead of sealing with adhesives or tape. Also woven or nonwoven paper, metal foil such as aluminum foil, and the like may be used.

Or the edges of the carrier sheet, whatever it is, may be simply sealed together with the same impregnant used in the body of the device, that is to say that which has been impregnated into the cellular polyurethane sheet.

While several embodiments of my invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention in its broader aspects.

1 claim:

1. A depilation device comprising a first laminate formed of a first flexible sheet material having secured to at least a portion of one surface thereof a second flexible sheet material, said second sheet material having at least a cellular surface and containing an impregnant comprising a water-soluble tacky material, a second laminate formed of a first flexible sheet material having secured to at least a portion of one surface thereof a second flexible sheet material, said second flexible sheet material having at least a cellular surface containing an impregnant comprising a water-soluble tacky material, the said cellular surfaces of each of said laminates being in contacting relationship so as to form a sandwich, one or more edges of said flexible sheet materials being secured to each other.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the first flexible sheet material is dimensionally larger laterally than the said cellular surface material.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the first flexible sheet material is secured to its opposite member by heat-sealing.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the tacky material is at least a partially hydrolyzed sucrose solution.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the water-soluble tacky material comprises a member selected from the group consisting of mon'osaccharides, disaccharides and mixtures thereof.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the first flexible sheet material is a plastic film.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the second sheet material is polyurethane foam.

8. In combination, the device of claim I and a pouch therefor which envelops and seals said device from the outside atmosphere, said pouch being formed of water vapor impermeable and air resistant material. 

1. A depilation device comprising a first laminate formed of a first flexible sheet material having secured to at least a portion of one surface thereof a second flexible sheet material, said second sheet material having at least a cellular surface and containing an impregnant comprising a water-soluble tacky material, a second laminate formed of a first flexible sheet material having secured to at least a portion of one surface thereof a second flexible sheet material, said second flexible sheet material having at least a cellular surface containing an impregnant comprising a water-soluble tacky material, the said cellular surfaces of each of said laminates being in contacting relationship so as to form a sandwich, one or more edges of said flexible sheet materials being secured to each other.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein the first flexible sheet material is dimensionally larger laterally than the said cellular surface material.
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein the first flexible sheet material is secured to its opposite member by heat-sealing.
 4. The device of claim 1 wherein the tacky material is at least a partially hydrolyzed sucrose solution.
 5. The device of claim 1 wherein the water-soluble tacky material comprises a member selected from the group consisting of monosaccharides, disaccharides and mixtures thereof.
 6. The device of claim 1 wherein the first flexible sheet material is a plastic film.
 7. The device of claim 1 wherein the second sheet material is polyurethane foam.
 8. In combination, the device of claim 1 and a pouch therefor which envelops and seals said device from the outside atmosphere, said pouch being formed of water vapor impermeable and air resistant material. 